Method of making pile fabrics



Mrch 28, 1933. G. J. UNDERw'ooD' METHOD OF MAKING` PILE FABRICS Filed Jan'. 23, 1932 Hl llllllll ll Figa INVENTOR @arf/e ld I Underwood BY MMIL, /S-wva'm A..." w ATTORNEYS 1l uuullulv 3 Patented 2 8, 1933 v uNlrED STATES Pivrlezrrlg clerics:

GARFIELD J'. UNDERWOOD, OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR '.l-O MOHAWK CARFET MILLj-INC., OF AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF N'EW YORK muon or Maxine PILE FABRICS Application led January 23, 1932. Serial No. 588,355.

This inventions/relates t pile fabrics' and particularly' to vainovel ile fabric in which spun yarns are individua ly secured to a backing in such `af'manner that they are firmly bound thereto'to produce a fabric of an desired pattern and of good quality an appearance at an 'exceedingly low cost. The present invention comprehends not only the new fabric but also a method and'apparatus by. which it may be produced.

Pile fabrics have heretofore been produced by-making a loosely Wovenbase, loopin the pile tufts therein and binding these tu ts in place by an adhesive and" while these fabrics have the appearance of a regularly woven fabric and employstandard pile yarns, they are costly to make in that the production of the fabric includes a weaving operation and the design is limited'to a fewy colors.

In some cases, pile fabrics have also been produced by embeddin in an adhesive a pile formed from unspun li res, such as slivers or rovings or of a bat of fibrous material, such fabrics being made withv or without a base of textile material. This method of producing fabrics is not satisfactory because when the pile tufts are made from unspun fibres,

the fabric does not have the strenoth, life or appearance of a fabric woven in the usual manner and when a bat of fibrous material is employed, each fibre thereof is not held bythe adhesive binder and if brushing is used to raise the pile, loose fibres are detached, causing a loss of weight in the goods and detracting from its appearance.

The present invention is accordingly directed to the provision of anew and improved pile fabric in which spun pile yarns are employed and these yarns secured in place by a binding agent so that there is practically no shedding. The new fabric preferably incldes a fabric base but in some instances, and by the use of a suitable binding agent, the fabric can be made without such a base. The new fabric can be made either with dyed yarnsarranged to produce the desired pattern or undyed -yarns can be employed, in

which event, the finished fabric can be dyed or printed after its completion. Anyof the yclampe usual methods may be employed for the dyeing or printing.

Thenew fabric is made by a new method and apparatus by which the individual pile yarns are secured in place in such fashion that each yarn is reached and held by the binding agent so as to be firmly anchored in the fabric, the new method and equi ment producing a fabric of a quality much etter than those produced by the cementing methods heretofore used.

For a better understandin of the construction of the new fabric and o? the method and apparatus used in its manufacture, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which a preferred form of the fabric and a suitable method and apparatus constructed in accordance withthe principles of the invention are illustrated.

In the drawin Fig. 1 is a view of the apparatus in side e evation;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a plate which is a part of the apparatus; f

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the new fabric.

In the method whichv I prefer to use to F g. 3 1s an edge view ofthe plate shown in i form my novel fabric, a basefabric 10 which may be any fibrous or textile material is fed from a roll 11, has an adhesive coatingapplied thereto and is then moved onto a support or table 13. While on this support, a pluralit of vertically extending yarns above the support, are moved downward and their ends embedded in the adhesive material, and the material pressed tightly around the end of each individual yarn. The yarns are then released from the clamp and clamped again a short distance above the base and v26 andthe fabric is wound intoa roll 28.

in spaced independent relation' 1 be heated upon the support 13.

i that a yarn from v through the perforations are clam In the apparatus which I find convenient to use in the manufacture of my'novel fabric,a.

base fabric 10 passes from a roll 11 over a roller 12 under a hopper 14'which a plies adhesive materialto the face of the abric, under a blade 15 which regulates the thickness of the adhesive material applied to the fabric and onto the support 13 upon which the fabric rests while the face yarns are secured thereto. The support 13 may be heated by steam coil 16, if heat is necessary lto keep the adhesive material in. a tacky condition. Above the support 13, a plurality of packages 17 of yarn used for forming the pile tufts on the fabric are mounted in a rack or frame 18. Between the frame -18 and the support 13 are a pair of perforated plates 19 and 20 which lie face to face and parallel to the base fabric. These plates are slidablyfmounted on guides 21 extending from the support 13, and the perforations one of the packages 17 may extend through each pair of corresponding perfor-ations. Theupper plate'19 is free to move slightly in a lateral direction, and when so moved, offsets the corresponding perforations suiiiciently so that the yarns extending d tightly and cannot move. The pair o lates 19 and 20 are movable vertically upon te guides 21 so that they may be moved against the base fabric and press the ends of the yarns in the perforations into the adhesive material on the base. forations 22 in the lower plate 20 is enlarged or counterbored at 28 so that the adhesive may be pressed upward and around the end of the yarns. Adjacent the plates 19'and 20 is a knife 25 which moves along'the lower faceA of the plate 20 to shear the yarns a short distance above the base fabric. From the support 13, the formed fabric asses into a dryer or heater 26 where the a hesive material is set or hardened, over a roller 27 and is wound into a roll at 28.

When finished, the fabric com i rises a base 10 Kcoated with a layer of adheslve material 30 in which are embedded'the ends of a plurality of pile yarns 31 about the embedded ends'of which the adhesive is tightly pressed. Such a fabric is exce tionally serviceable and economical to manu acture and is com varable in both quality and appearance with t e more hesive sur ace,

gui ing and separately embedding in said surface the ends of a plurality of pile yarns drawn from separate supplies to be bound to thebase by said surface, I 1 21 l -v y( I in the plates correspond so The,lower end of each of the per' tufts,

and severing said yarns between saidsurface and the sources of supply.

A2. A method of making pile comprises coating a base material with binding agent, individually embedding the ends of a plurality of spun yarns in said inding agent, and pressing ythe binding agent comprises coating a base material withaA binding agent, individually but simultaneously embedding the ends of al plurality o spun yarnsvin said binding agent, pressing the binding agent into contact around the end of each yarn coloring the spun yarns. y

5. A method of making pile fabric which comprises coating a` base material with a binding agent, individually but simultaneously embedding the ends of a plurality of spun yarns in'said binding agent, pressing the binding agent into contact around the end of each yarn to form a pile fabric, and forming a pattern upon thespunyarns.

6. A method of making pile fabrics which comprises lcoating binding agent, individually embedding the ends of a plurality of spunyarns in said bindin agent, and pressing the binding agent into contact around the end of each yarn and shearing said yarn to form a pile fabric.

- .7., A method of comprises coating4 a making pile vfabrics which base material with a the` endsof a plurality of fabrics which -against the surface of each individual yarn a base material with a v binding agent, individually embedding the ends of a plurality of spun yarns in said binding agent, and pressing the binding agent into contact around the end of each yarn and setting said binding agent to form a pile fabric.

8. A pile fabric comprising a base, a binding agent upon the base, and spun yarn pile one end of each of which is individually embedded in the binding agent and has the binding agent pressed around it individually'.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature. i

GARFIELD J. UNDERWOOD. 

